The Hobbit Is Crowned Victor Of The Holiday Box Office Race

Holiday movie goers haven’t retreated to their hobbit-holes just yet, because Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has topped the Christmas Day box office with $9.3 million

The adventurous hobbit tale narrowly out-beat the Martin Scorsese’s newcomer comedy Wolf of Wall Street which opened in theaters on Wednesday. Wolf on Wall Street trailed The Hobbit with a total of $9.15 million on its Christmas Day premiere. As an astounding accomplishment, Wolf managed to pull its weight that day by showing in nearly half as many theaters as The Hobbit, resulting in an impressively high average of receipts per show.

Another comedy took the third spot for the holiday box office, with Will Ferrell’s sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues following closely with $8.3 million. Taking the fourth spot was the short story-turned-movie starring Ben Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, with $7.8 million. Finally, coming in the rankings at fifth was David O. Russell’s crime drama American Hustle sweeping in $7.4 million.